Qld study finds fish turn a blind eye to predators

By Renee Cluff
Tue 20 Aug 2013, 8:01 AM AEST

Queensland researchers have found a species of fish can change the appearance of their eyes to boost their chances of survival against predators.

James Cook University researchers in north Queensland have found that small damsel fish can not only grow a large fake "eye spot" near their tail when threatened, but can also reduce the size of their real eyes.

Professor Mark McCormick says it makes the fish appear to be swimming backwards, which confuses their predators.

"They actually end up having a much larger eye spot and it's actually even larger than their true eye, than they do when they're not exposed to a predator," he said.

"It's likely to actually distract the attention of the predator to the back of the fish where its actually less vulnerable to attack."